Violent protest before DR Congo poll

Demonstrators calling for the destruction of spare ballot papers printed for the presidential elections this month have clashed with police in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

11 Jul 2006 14:56 GMT

Riot police used batons and stun grenades against protesters

Riot police beat protesters with batons and fired stun grenades which knocked several people unconscious, a Reuters reporter said. Red Cross officials carried at least two people away.

Demonstrators gave out pamphlets quoting 19 presidential candidates who have called for the July 30 election to be postponed.

The candidates want five million spare ballot papers to be destroyed to prevent them being used to fix the poll results. The electoral commission says it needs the spare ballots in case any others are destroyed by accident.

Illegal protest

Protesters tore down the electionposters of the current president

Police said Tuesday's demonstration was illegal. The interior ministry has said it will allow public protests - permitted under a new constitution overwhelmingly approved by a referendum last December - if it receives three days' notice.

Protesters included some supporters of the UDPS opposition party, which is boycotting the elections. They tore down election campaign posters and chanted slogans against the current president, Joseph Kabila.